Yep, was doing some serious investigations of Murdoch Universities 23 Things Program designed for librarians to learn about web 2.o technologies and my attention was grabbed by Thing 14: Image Generator. Why? Well playing around with the different image generators looks like fun but also is another quick way of creating images for blogs and presentations.
I must have been living in a vacuum because I never realised there was sooooooo many online tools for image generation. Actually I was totally overwhelmed with the quantity of image generators available which makes me wonder how the participants of the 23 Things program felt. Enjoyment at road testing a few or overwhelmed by too many options?
Here are a few of the images I created:
This is what I thought of image generators (Chalkboard Message Generator)
But we all know that I should have been working (www.txt2pic.com/comic-strip)
However what I really wanted was chocolate! (Chocolate Generator)
And my mind is too busy thinking about holidays to focus on work on a Sunday night! (Make A Birthday Cake)
And the good news is Kathryn, in the Thing 14: Image Generator post, was also nice enough to provide a link to Generator Blog which posts about these type of online tools. So I will get a regular update on image generators that could save me time creating images – and provide me with a bit of fun time!
FINAL THOUGHT
The 23 Things program has been adopted by over 100 libraries worldwide and was adapted from the Learning 2.0 program developed by Helen Blowers as an online self-discovery program that encourages the exploration of web 2.0 tools and new technologies.
You can read more about Murdoch University’s 23 Program here. I like the way Murdoch University has included weekly workshops for “walk throughs” of weekly tasks and set up a mentoring network to support participants.
I know Michele Martin has considered adapting the 23 Things program for Non-Profit organisations and after feedback from readers she commented:
“Nonprofit staff hear us talking about online tools, and what they hear is “more work.” Their reaction so often is, “This is complicated, I don’t have time to learn it or use it, and really it doesn’t help me help my clients/ customers/ program participants.”
We need to help them understand *why* this stuff is useful, and *how* it can support their day-to-day work – maybe even help them get their jobs done more effectively and efficiently.
I believe people have/are trying it with educators. So I am pondering how this program would go with educators? I know most educators I work with would have similar thoughts highlighted by Michele Martin.
Sue Waters 
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